Pandora's box
by Vildis
Summary: Danny and Lindsay wanted some time off, and spend it together. But they get interruped as they see how a female victim dies in front of their eyes. Once again, it's time for the CSI team in NY to figure out what happened and solve the crime.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I just write fanfics for fun, as I enjoy it. I don't write anything in a try to earn any money. I also don't own any of the characters.**

Danny recalled all good memories from his childhood. He even remembered all crazy things, like all times he used to hang out in the bay. He loved spending time on his family's boat, even if he hated when he and his brother Louie once used the boat, and they were taken home by the Coast Guard. Danny's mum refused talking to him for a whole week. He didn'tt regret anything though. He was so young and naive, and everything seemed to be so great. Danny surely enjoyed his current life too, but he wanted Lucy to see more of where her daddy grew up and where his family came from. He had so many fantastic memories, and he wanted to share them with Lindsay and Lucy. To show them around, and simply spend some family time. It would be relaxing and nice.

So he talked to Lindsay, and planned a day trip to Staten Island. Lucy who never had never been there before, became enthusiastic about the proposal.

It was a sunny and beautiful day in May, when the Messer family went to Staten Island. They could see how everything was in bloom, and how colourful it was. It was pretty hot already, but they did not mind the heat. The wind was blowing and gave some coolness. It felt bracing.

They spent the the whole morning doing sightseeing and then visited Danny's parents to eat some lunch. Danny decided to go to a playground afterwards, as Lucy wanted to have some fun. Lucy played with some other children there, while Danny and Lindsay sat on a bench.

Danny was amazed how quickly Lucy had grown up. It felt like yesterday when she was a little baby in his arms. Now she was six years old, and would become seven within a couple of weeks. It was truly amazing how time flew by. Danny was suddently interrupted by Lindsay. He did not notice it first, as he was looking at Lucy while daydreaming.

"Hey Danny, are you alright?", Lindsay asked. She noticed that Danny seemed to be so far away, even if he sat there next to her on the bench. So she wondered what was going on.

"Sure, I was just thinking, you know? Is it not unbelievable how quickly Lucy has grown up? I mean, she was like a little child yesterday and already a big girl now. It feels like she will be adult tomorrow and married within a week and get some children very soon". He looked at Lindsay and seemed to be really worried about losing his beloved daughter soon, as the time just flew by.

Lindsay started to laugh. She knew how much Danny loved Lucy. She also knew that she was always going to be Daddy's little girl, no matter how old she would be. Even when Lucy was a woman and around 30 years old, she would remain daddy's little girl. She found it amusing how Danny always worried about losing Lucy's love and attention as she knew this would never happen.

"How many times do I have to tell you that there's no need for you to worry?" she asked her husband then.

"Who says I'm worried?" Danny asked with a surprised look, sighing as she raised her eyebrows at him though. "You know me way too well, Montana."

Lindsay chuckled. "No, you're just too obvious. I'm serious though. You shouldn't worry. Lucy loves you. You'll always be her Daddy and she won't ever stop caring for you. Or for me. No matter how old she is."

"Even when she's a teenager and starts to hate everything we say?" he asked in disbelief, causing her to laugh.

"Even then, yes, although times might be a bit harder then," she answered.

"So you're not worried at all?" he wanted to know.

"I am," Lindsay told him. "And that's normal for a parent. But you should always remind yourself that no matter how tough times will be, we'll always stay her parents and after every fight she'll come back to us. We won't ever be useless for her. Just believe me, will you?"

Danny offered a smirk; the evidence that once again she had managed to get through to him and make him understand.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," he said then. With his smile widening, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. "You're a great Mommy, you know that? And a great wife as well. Not that I ever had a doubt."

Chuckling again, Lindsay leant in closer. "I can only give the compliment back."

Smirking at her words, Danny placed a quick yet loving kiss onto her lips as Lindsay snuggled a bit closer. They remained sitting on the bench for a few more moments before they got up together and headed over to Lucy as the child shouted for them to present her sand castle to them. Happy about her enthusiasm, they joined her to play with her.


	2. Chapter 2

The day had passed by quickly, but the Messer family always thought it went fast when they spent some family time together, as they always enjoyed that time. When the clock was 5 pm, it was time to go back to Danny's parents as they would be babysitters. Danny and Lindsay enjoyed spending time with their daughter, but they thought they needed some romantic quality time. Just the two of them. As their lives were hectic, trying to work full time as CSI's and being parents wasn't always easy, and sometime there was no time left for the married couple to spend some time together, without Lucy or anyone else.

But they finally found some time, and as Danny's parents would babysit it was no problem. So Danny and Lindsay decided to take the ferry back to Manhattan and leave Staten Island for a while. They went on board and went to the second floor and went to the railings, where they could see the beautiful view. They thought it was completely amazing and such romantic. The ferry departed 15 minutes ago, and everything seemed to be fine. Until they got interrupted by a loud scream and seconds later everybody could see how a woman fell from the top into the water.

Some passengers started to scream and shout, others started to cry. Some people became shocked while a man got panic, and ran down to the ground floor. When he came down, he started to yell first, then shout her name. Danny and Lindsay went down and tried to help him. Danny went away to make sure the ferry should stop, as a passenger had fallen into the water and Lindsay tried to console him and make sure the man could calm down. She found out that the man's name was Jeff Brown, and that his wife Amanda fell into the water.

"Jeff, you really need to take it easy. I understand that you want to save your wife, but the ferry is still moving, and we cannot see your wife from this place". Lindsay tried to say it nicely and be relaxed. 

He started to scream and shout once again: "Hey lady, I don't know you. But my wife is out there and I want to help her. Don't you get it?" Jeff was surprised how the unknown woman in front of him could be so calm. Didn't she understand how it felt to be powerless and not able to help the one you love?

Danny finally came back, after what seemed to a very long time. The time passed on in slow motion. The ferry was now standing still, and Amanda's body was now seen floating. Jeff jumped into the water after all, went to take her body and come back to the ferry. A doctor and a female passenger who had knowledge in first aid tried to save Amanda's life, but it was pointless. He life could not be saved, it was too late. 

Not a word was said until people knew for sure that she was dead. Even if many still were shocked, it was like no one knew what to say or do. Until Lindsay interupted them all, when she turned to Jeff. "Hey, I am so sorry for your loss. I understand that you are very upset and shocked right now. But me and my husband Danny here are both crime scene investigors, and would like to find out what happened to your wife.".

Danny decided to take part in the conversation. "She is right, and the ferry won't continue untill our boss, another co-worker and the police have come and have been able to start the investigation. So we have to stay here for a while." 

Jeff nodded and accepted it. "Alright then. I suppose you are just going to do your job. But it was just a accident. All of a sudden, Amanda just fell. It happened too fast, I am not really sure what happened up there".

"Well, if there was an accident, we will find out. Don't worry about that. " Danny answered.

Danny couldn't help it, but he didn't want to be there at the ferry when this happened, as he didn't plan the evening like this. He still hoped he could get some time with Lindsay later, as he didn't want to work tonight. He was still waiting for Mac, Hawkes, Flack and some other police officers to arrive. But he knew that even if he could skip work tonight, he wouldn't be able to ignore the accident on the ferry.


	3. Chapter 3

When Mac and Hawkes came to the ferry, they could see that Flack was already there among with a couple of other police officers. They were asking questions to some of the victims. Flack was currently talking to Mr Brown. So Mac and Hawkes went immediately to the victim, where Hawkes inspected the body.

After a couple of minutes, Flack walked over to talk to Mac and Sheldon. As Mac was curious, he opened the discussing by asking: "Flack, what have you got?". 

"To be honest, I have no idea. We have many witnesses but no one saw anything. The husband said he was talking to his wife, but looked in another direction when she suddenly fell into the water. There's something fishy going on here, as I don't believe there was an accident when the woman fell". Flack replied.

"You are right, Flack. She has got defensive wounds on her arms, and it looks like she hit her head really hard before she fell into the water. Look here". Hawkes did interrupt his co-workers, as he didn't believe it was no accident. The wounds clearly showed that something else happened and caused the woman's death.

"Really? Looks like I have to talk to the husband again." Flack looked like he was tired of this mess and just wanted this day to be over.

"Flack, do you mind if I join you? I would like to talk to him too." Mac had many questions and wanted to talk to Mr Brown as well, as Hawkes's inspection gave rise to even more questions about what happened. It was alright for Flack, as he didn't mind getting some company during the interrogation. So Mac and Flack went to Mr Brown again, with Hawkes following after them even if he didn't say anything.

"So, Mr Brown, how did your wife end up getting defensive wounds and hit her head if she just fell?" Mac asked, with disbelief and doubt in his voice.

"I swear, I have no idea. I have already told the police officer there everything I know. I cannot tell you something new". Jeff replied, with anger as he was seized by panic.

"Hey, calm down. We just want some answers, no need to react angrily. I can understand if you are upset now, but you still need to calm down. Do you think you could do that?" Mac didn't expext that the husband would react this way, and therefore had no idea what to say. But he did his best.

"I can always try, but it is not easy when you accuse me for murdering my wife, when it was simply an accident. How many times am I supposed to tell you that? I don't know how she got those wounds, and she maybe did hit and hurt her head when she fell. Maybe the railings caused the wound on her head? I have no idea, what do you expect from me?" Jeff answered, still angrily.

"We didn't say you murdered your wife. We just wondered how she got the wounds. We also find it weird how you and everybody else didn't see how or when she fell. It looks strange to us, as there were many witnesses here. But no one saw anything, including you who did stand next to her when it happened". Flack replied and sighed deeply. He thought that the conversation was pointless and decided to bring Jeff into the police station, just to continue the interrogation there. But he wanted to let someone else take care of it. He was completely sure that Mr Brown murdered his wife, but had no idea why no one else could see anything.

Flack went away to talk to his other co-workers, to see how far they had come with questioning the other passengers who could be potential witnesses. As everyone claimed they didn't see anything, until they heard how the victim screamed when she fell, they decided to let go. But Jeff Brown would come with them to the police station, as the police officers weren't satisfied with his answers yet. Then he went back to Mac and Sheldon, and checked if everything was fine.

Mac and Sheldon still had some work to do at the crime scene, as Mac said that Danny and Lindsay could leave as it was not necessary that they worked right now. Mac and Sheldon could handle this on their own, and they would get help by some co-workers when they came back to the lab. That made both Lindsay and Danny relieved, as they didn't want to work at the moment. They felt that they already had gotten enough and couldn't handle it as both were ashamed that they didn't see anything, just like everyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

Sid was currently busy with the autopsy. He found this case fascinating as he had been told about what happened to the victim when she arrived, so that Sid could start with his job. When he was younger, he was very interested in mythology. Especially greek mythology. So he knew the story about Pandora's box. Pandora was very beautiful and charming, she could therefore get any guy she liked. She was also very powerful as she had been blessed by the greek gods. Pandora had her own box, when opened by her, it unleashed many terrible things on mankind. Many were scared of her as they had heard of the mystery with the box, but no one could guess how bad it could get if Pandora ever opened her box.

Sid knew that Pandora could cause major injuries to people she did not like. There were countless of stories where Pandora did manipulate men so they would become her new love interest. It did not matter if that person already had a girlfriend or a wife, as Pandora was able to be cruel. She could therefore do anything to get the competition out or her way, even if that meant that the woman died in a painful way. Both mental torture and psycical torture. It often seemed to be an accident, and usually no one saw how it happened. As Pandora loved water, many of these stories happened near water no matter if it were a river, lake, the sea or something else. These stories was just rumours and never got confirmed. Yet, many people believed in them. So if Pandora wanted someone or something, they gave it to her instead of taking the fight. Which they would lose.

Suddenly, Mac came into the room. As Sid was almost done, it was alright. Mac didn't know about Sid's previous interest about Greek mythology, so he didn't know that Sid had his own theory about the case. Mac thought Sid just would just say the cause of death. He couldn't be more wrong.

----------

While Mac was in the autopsy room, there was a lot of activity in the lab. Hawkes was running several tests, as he had the victim's clothes. But he also wanted to run some DNA tests. Of course, he was not the only one in the lab working on the case. Adam Ross was there to help him, just like a couple of other laboratory technicians. Hawkes took the DNA samples and did let Adam run these tests, so that he could concentrate on the clothes.

Stella was working too, as she tried to do a background check. As she wanted to get more information about the victim and her husband, Jeff Brown. It seemed like both had been conscientious, as they never had gotten a parking fine or done something worse. She even called Flack at the police station to confirm that. So far, it seemed like Mr and Mrs Brown were a happy, married couple. It didn't seem like there were any problems between them, which some neighbours, friends and family members could confirm. They surely had their ups and downs, but handled it well. There was never any violence or sign that any of them would be aggressive. Stella couldn't help it, but she got a flashback. Somehow, this case did remind her of her ex-boyfriend Frankie. She never expected that he would become aggressive and treat her badly in her own apartment. She thought that something similar could have happened to Mr and Mrs Brown, just that Jeff chose to hurt his wife in public instead. She was unsure though, and wasn't sure if she could talk about this theory with anyone.

But she didn't have to think about it. As Mac came up to the lab again and went to Stella. He was still confused after the conversation with Sid, and did not know what to believe. Stella could finally focus on something else.

"Looks like this case became even more complicated now," Mac said, still being confused.

"What do you mean? What did Sid say about case of death?" Stella replied as she got surprised.

"The skull injury was the cause of death. As it caused a cerebral haemorrhage. It became her death. She had some minor injuries and severe internal bleeding in other parts of her body as well. Our victim was definitely murdered. She couldn't cause those wounds on her own. Especially not the skull injury, even if we don't know how she got it yet. She probably got it somehow when she fell, but she must had hitten something really hard before she ended up in the water. Sid was talking about greek mythology, and Pandora's box. He believes that our victim could had been murdered because of the box, as Pandora never sleeps. Either that, or that someone else was able to open the box. "

"Mac, wait a second. I am not sure I understand what you are talking you repeat that and explain what Pandora's box has got to do with our victim?" Stella was both surprised and confused. She knew that Sid could come with strange stories, but this story didn't make sense at all. And Mac sounded like he was Sid when he said her the story.

Mac sighed and tried to give another explanation. But as a matter of fact, he found it weird too. So he wasn't surprised that Stella didn't understand what he tried to say. "Sid is very interested in greek mythology. There is a story about Pandora and her box. Pandora was such beautiful and charming, and used to get everything she wanted. Partly because she had a box, and when she opened it; she could destroy earth and kill everyone. She could do anything with this box. But she could also use her own looks to get what she wanted. Many were amazed when they saw her and forgot everything else around them. Just to stare at Pandora. As she was blessed by greek gods, people thought she had got special gifts too. So they wanted to please her, as it would make people satisfied and stop worrying about things going bad. But what people didn't know was that Pandora could live forever, unless she would meet a special one. Someone who truly loved Pandora for the one she was. But she needed to truly love that person too. She needed true love to break the spell. The greek version of "The Beauty and the beast". Sid also mentioned that Pandora wasn't that strong and good at manipulation as many thought she was. To be honest, she was weak. Sid actually wrote a verse on a paper, as Pandora apparently fell in love once. So she wrote what she felt. But that guy didn't respond to her feelings.

Mac gave her the note so she could read it. Stella took it and started to read it out loud.

"I lie to you every day  
I'm too cowardly to say the truth  
To show that I am really weak  
Deep in the bottom of my sea  
Is there a broken little box  
It is yours if you want  
Make my day"

Stella was still confused and didn't know what to say. The story was totally unbelievable. Mac noticed it and started to speak again. "I know that it sounds confusing, but that's what Sid believes. I have no idea why. He has two theories; Pandora is still alive somehow and wants Mr Brown and wanted to make her competition, Mrs Brown, to disappear, which I find very unrealistic. Or, Mr Brown murdered his wife while no one noticed it. Which is strange too. By the way, did you or anyone else here in the lab find anything yet?

Stella finally was able to open her mouth and say some words. "No, Hawkes is still processing the clothes. Adam should be finished with the DNA tests soon. And I didn't find anything strange in the couple's past. Everything seemed to be fine. Flack was able to confirm it too."


End file.
